The St. Louis Rams took two significant if not unexpected steps Monday toward relocating the NFL franchise to Southern California as early as the 2016 season.

The Rams informed the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission that they will convert their lease for the Edward Jones Domes to a year-by-year agreement and that they have submitted petitions with enough signatures for a ballot initiative which if passed would allow Rams owner Stan Kroenke to begin construction on a $2-billion, 80,000-seat stadium at Hollywood Park.

By shifting to a year-to-year lease, the Rams could opt out of the agreement after the 2015 season, return to the Los Angeles-Orange County market and play two seasons at the Rose Bowl or Coliseum before moving into the Hollywood Park stadium, which developers said would be open in time for the 2018 NFL season.

If the signatures are verified the ballot initiative could be in front of Inglewood voters as early as June.

While the Rams’ moves Monday, expected for weeks, will be seen by many both in St. Louis and Southern California as further proof that Kroenke intends to relocate the franchise to the nation’s second-largest media market, groups in both Missouri and Inglewood argue the moves are nothing more than Kroenke trying to leverage a better stadium deal in St. Louis.

“The Rams told us today of their decision to engage in an annual one-year lease with the CVC, as well as their submission of petition signatures for the ballot initiative in Inglewood,” the task force said in a statement. “We appreciate the Rams personally informing us of their decision here in St. Louis as well as their filing in Inglewood. Neither of these actions was unexpected, nor do they have any effect on our stadium plans for the north riverfront of St. Louis.”

The St. Louis plan calls for between $460 million and $535 million of the new stadium’s cost to come from extending current bonds on the Edward Jones Dome and tax credits. Between $400 and $450 million would be paid by the NFL and the Rams, with the remaining $130 million coming from seat licenses.

Rams officials declined comment on Monday, referring calls and emails to the Convention and Visitors Commission. Kroenke has not publicly discussed his plans.

“While the lease will now run year-to-year, all other lease terms remain the same,” CVC president Kitty Ratcliffe said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Rams’ management in preparation for the 2015 football season in the Edward Jones Dome.”

The Rams were able to opt out their lease after the 2014 season because of a trigger clause in the 30-year agreement the team signed when it relocated from Anaheim in 1995. The “first-tier” clause in the lease requires the dome be among the top 25 percent of NFL stadiums, a standard the venue has failed to meet.

Negotiations between the Rams and the St. Louis commission over upgrades for the dome broke down in past year.

The commission proposed $200 million in improvements and asked the Rams to pay half the bill. The Rams countered with a larger-scale plan that included a sliding roof, a proposal that some commission and city officials said came with a $700 million price tag. The commission rejected the Rams’ plan.

The Hollywood Park Land Company – of which The Kroenke Group is a partner – is circulating petitions in Inglewood asking the city’s registered voters to place on the ballot a measure that if passed would allow the developers to build a stadium on a 60-acre parcel between Hollywood Park and The Forum that was purchased by Kroenke a year ago.

Passage of the ballot initiative would allow the Hollywood Park Land Company of which The Kroenke Group is a partner to avoid several stringent environmental and governmental reviews that could cost the project tens of millions of dollars and months even years in the delay. The initiative’s approval would fold the stadium project on a 60-acre parcel purchased by Kroenke last year into an already approved 238-acre retail, office and residential development at Hollywood Park.

While the stadium would be privately financed, developers would receive tax rebates for infrastructure costs once certain tax revenue thresholds were met. The stadium could host two NFL teams and would be open in time for the 2018 season. The Rams would play in either the Rose Bowl or Coliseum for two seasons before the Inglewood stadium is completed.

The Rams or any other NFL franchise seeking to relocate to Southern California would first need the approval of three-quarters of the league’s 32 owners. Chargers officials believe they have the nine votes needed to block another NFL franchise from moving into the Los Angeles-Orange County market.

Scott M. Reid is a sports enterprise/investigative reporter for the Orange County Register. He also covers Olympic and international sports as well as the Los Angeles’ bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games. His work for the Register has led to investigations by the International Olympic Committee, the U.S. Department of Education, the California Legislature, and the national governing bodies for gymnastics and swimming. Reid's 2011 reporting on wide spread sexual abuse within USA Gymnastics and the governing body's failure to effectively address it led to Don Peters, coach of the 1984 record-setting Olympic team, being banned from the sport for life. His reporting also prompted USA Gymnastics to adopt new guidelines and policies dealing with sexual abuse. Reid's 2012 and 2013 reporting on sexual abuse within USA Swimming led to the banishment of two top level coaches. Reid has won 11 Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting since 1999. He has also been honored by APSE for game writing, and enterprise, news, and beat reporting. He was an Investigative Reporters and Editors award finalist in 2002 and 2003. Prior to joining the Register in 1996, Reid worked for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Dallas Times Herald. He has a B.A. in the History of the Americas from the University of Washington.

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